Tag Archives: Creditors

The Jamie Solow contempt incarceration case has caused a lot of people to write a lot of articles and offer a lot of opinions – most of which are completely inaccurate. The author, Howard D. Rosen, is one of Mrs. Solow’s attorneys, attended court hearings, testified, and can state with accuracy what actually transpired in this case.

On April 20, 2005, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 was enacted into law. The stated purpose of the Act is to “improve bankruptcy law and practice by restoring personal responsibility and integrity in the bankruptcy system and ensure that the system is fair for both debtors and creditors.”

On April 4, 2005, the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision in Rousey v. Jacoway, a case addressing the issue of exempting individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from federal bankruptcy proceedings. The decision was widely hailed in the financial press, with such headlines as “High Court Rules IRAs Untouchable – Unanimous Decision Means Retirement Savings Are Protected From Creditors”.

With jury awards ever-increasing and malpractice coverage dwindling in many states, many physicians are anxious about credit protection. Moreover, malpractice lawsuits are not the only threat to your wealth.

Consider the thought processes of your claimant’s attorney contemplating an action to recover assets from a trust in a foreign country. He knows nothing of the country’s geography, laws, procedures, costs, or even its currency. These factors become immediate hurdles in a legal obstacle course upon which he is about to embark.

Florida has received a lot of bad press in recent years as a result of notorious types like Bowie Kuhn moving here from up north at the “eleventh hour” to establish an exempt Florida homestead. Our legislature has had enough, and is now considering a proposed constitutional amendment which could force a homeowner with more than $350,000 of equity to sell the home to pay creditors.

On May 14, 1993, the Florida Legislature enacted (without the Governor’s signature) significant changes and added new provisions to Florida’s exemption laws. These changes become effective on October 1, 1993, although the effective date provision could have been more clearly drafted. In this issue, we will examine these new and changed provisions and see how you may be affected.

Exemptions are provided by the laws of each state in order to protect specified property interests from being reached by creditors and bankruptcy courts. Each state may adopt its own exemption laws, or may choose to adopt the federal bankruptcy exemptions, or may permit its residents their choice.

It is often said that the key to effective asset protection is ADVANCE PLANNING. This truism is repeatedly emphasized, because of the “fraudulent transfer” laws. Fraudulent transfer laws in one form or another are in effect in every state and civilized jurisdiction in the world.